Monday, May 6, 2013

My secret trick to handling motherhood overwhelm

It doesn't matter how many kids you have, how long you've been a mum, whether you stay at home, work at home, work outside of home, or any thing else - life as a mother is busy all the time, and it's often overwhelming.

We love our families - no doubt about that. But sometimes all that busy-ness gets too much and we're not sure we can handle it!

If you find yourself headed towards too busy and overwhelmed, it's ok. There are ways to cope.

In fact, I have a secret trick that woks for me every time, no matter what situation I'm in, and I want to share it with you today.

You might love it and start using it yourself, or you might find it a little silly and decide it's not for you. Either way, I don't mind. I just want you to know there's a simple option you can try if you like :)

So what's my trick?

I pick a Mummy role model.

Yep, that's it. I pick a mum I admire and copy her. Not in a stalker way - I just think of the things she does that impress me, and I practice doing those things myself.

Easy! And such a big benefit. It works immediately, every time I do it.

Here are a few examples of my past mummy role models and how I've practiced 'being them':

The mum from the TV show 7th Heaven: I used to watch reruns of this show when Sophie was a baby and I was up very early feeding her. I just loved the way this mum handled "The Juggle" - shopping, cleaning, cooking, bottle washing, laundry etc and still had time for family. She just kept on moving, kept going in a smooth rhythm. My life was all about these things when Soph was tiny so I really related to it and found myelf thinking "If other mums can do this, so can I!"

Miranda Kerr: She's happy and calm whenever I see her with her son. She makes me feel less guilty about wanting to spend time on my hair and make up (not that I get to every day, but I'm working on it), and she's so positive. I love positive. I just want to live in a happy little bubble every day and not let anything negative in.

Jessica Alba: I really relate to the way Jessica Alba loved her career before she had kids, and still loves it now - alongside running her own mum related business. As I move back into the corporate world myself this month (don't worry, I'll still be here too!) I find comfort in knowing others have juggled 2 different career passions and still adored family life, and had no problem keeping it real and not putting pressure on themselves to do it all perfectly (one of my favourite FB pics from Jessica has posted is one of her family in the dining room - and her table was just as messy as mine is some days!).

My Mum: My Mum is awesome. She's the reason I believe the bond a family has with each other is stronger than anything else in life. I've been so lucky to be brought up in a family that knows without a doubt we're there for each other, we'll support each other without a second thought and we don't even need to explain what we need or why we need it, it's always going to be a 'yes, we can help' from all of us. She's inspired me to teach my kids the same values and I should really let her know how much she means to me more often.

So that's four of them, there are many more :)

Now over to you - If life as a busy mum is getting overwhelming for you, try it - pick a mummy role model and have a go at 'being them' and handling it the way you think they would.

Do you do this already? Comment below and let me know who your current mum role model is!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE AS A GUEST POST ON YOUR BLOG OR IN YOUR NEWSLETTER? Of course you can - just make sure to include this bio and picture with it:

Marissa Roberts helps busy mothers find more time in the day to do everything. She teaches family friendly organising and time management techniques to mums looking for more work, life and family balance. Get her FREE ebook “5 Steps to an Easy Morning" at www.beautifullyorganised.com

Credits:

Picture by me (and Sophie)

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